Deep bellow
by Rand0m5tuff
Summary: While the two Armies prepare for the decisive battle at the Naggiar Plains, the Imperial High Command decides to deal a devastating blow to the Gallian Forces while testing their newest invention.
1. Chapter 1

Francis was confused. Why would the Empire fortify this place? There was literally no reason for that. Sure, there were some supply-depots, but other supplybases he had inspected thus far weren´t as fortified as the one at the Marberry Shore. Francis sighed. It really made no sense. He turned around, looking at the ocean. The sun had begun to set, coulouring the water red. It was a breathtaking sight.  
„It´s beautiful, isn´t it?" Francis looked behind him, to see who was speaking to him. „Oh, Lieutenant Delson,I´m sorry, I haven´t realized, that you were behind me, i will go back to…" The Lieutenant cut him short. „It´s ok Francis, enjoy the sunset while you can. Command sent us here to investigate and from my point of view, looking at the sun counts as „investigating". The longer the investigation takes, the longer we stay away from the frontline and that´s a good thing, don´t you think?" Francis grinned. This war was raging for a few months now and the Lieutenant hadn´t changed a bit. Always avoiding actual work and trying to convince his subordinates to do the same. „Yes Sir. I will now proceed with my investigation of the Imperial Base. Furthermore, I request your permission to interogate the prisoners and to talk to some of the soldiers of Squad 7." „Permission granted. As fort he latter, i will talk to Squad 7´s commander about that. I will let you know, as soon as i have an answer."  
Francis saluted and made his way back tot he camp. While he was walking up the cliffs, he started to think to himself. „It´s good, that i haven´t been assigned to the frontline-units. I don´t get much action though. But thats ok. Here at Squad 76, everyone was nice and for most of the time, it was safe. Right now, we are just 3 men, but im sure we will get some new recruits soon. Maybe in few days..." As he entered the base, someone ran up to him, saluted and bean to shout. „Lieutnant Delson, i am Private Malley and I have been assigned to Squad 76 as an Engineer. I look forward to serve under your command. I will help you as good as i can to bring defeat upon this imperial bastards." „Slow down Private, im not the Lieutenant, im just his deputy. But if you look for him, you should head to the beach." „Thank you Sir.", the Private said and with that, he ran off, heading to the shoreline. Francis grinned. „Fresh meat", he thought. „But it´s good to see someone new, especially after half of the Squad left for Fouzen to help with the reconstruction, after the information about the tragedy was spread." Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind. „I give him 2 days before he requests a transfer to one of the fighting Squads." Francis turned around. It was Marvin, the only other person left in the Squad besides him and the Lieutenant and (probably) the laziest person in the whole Militia. Most of the time, he is either sleeping or cooking. Not that that was a bad thing, in fact, he was really good at cooking and he never seems to go out of ingridients. The Lieutenant suspects, that he nicks them from the headquarters supplies, whenever they get back to the, but nobody has any evidence for that thus far. „What do you mean by that?" „This guy probably thinks, that he is in one of those „super-cool-canonfodder-frontline-units". I kinda feel bad for him. There he is, enlisted to kick some ass and now he is in a unit, whos main purpose is to look around for some junk in recaptured places far away from actual combat. Not that i´m complaining, this is probably the chillest unit in the whole Militia. Yesterday, i literally slept through the whole day. Oh, by the way, you probably want look at this. I think, this base served a in crucial role for something much larger, than just supplying some soldiers and tanks…"


	2. Chapter 2

Francis couldn´t believed his eyes. „There is no way the Empire could do this…that´s impossible!" „Well, obviously the y can do it." He looked at Marvin. „What the hell is this place supposed to be?" „If i had to guess, i would say, that this is some kind of small harbour in a cave." „Thank you, i know how a harbour looks like, i meant the fact, that this harbour is built into a cave." „I think, that they just found the cave, digged a tunnel, built a harbour inside the cave and then built a depot on top of said tunnel. No big deal" Francis looked at the entrance oft he cave. He could some light shining through it. „This cave is to low for a ship. Just look at the cave entrance. I can´t think of any vessel of military value, that is small enough to fit through there." Marvin scratched the back of his head. „That´s true, but maybe the Imps use new ships, that are able to do this?I don´t know, i have spent enough time on this. If you need me, you will probably find me in the kitchen. Given, that this place has a kitchen." „Do what you want to do, i am going to figure out why the Imperials build this secret harbour." Marvin left. Francis looked around „Now, where do we start" He examined the cargo crane. It was much smaller than the regular ones, which were normally used. He began to walk around. Next to the wall near the tunnel were some crates, across from them where some strange metal tubes, which looked a little bit like huge bullets. „Strange. These things are way to big to be ammonition, even for battleships." He took out his camera and began to take pictures. „Well, that should be enough pictures, time to look at the crates." He began to open one of the crates. It was full of tools and some small metall pieces, mostly screws, nuts, gears and such stuff. The second crate contained the same. „Only one crate to go." Francis opened the last crate. „ Just some papersheets with drawings on them….wait a second. What is this? Is this supposed to be a ship? I´ve never seen anything like that. Maybe the Lieutenant knows something about it. After all, he fixed the truck, when it broke down once…" He grabbed some of the sheet and started to make his way to the surface. After he left the supplydepot, he started to look for the Lieutenant. A few minutes later, he found him at the beach. „Lieutenant Delson, i think have something i should show to you." „Go ahead Francis. By the way, have you met our newest recruit?" „Yes Sir, he accidently mistook me for you. Anyways, i think i have found something important…" Francis handed him the photographs and the sheets. „Get the new guy and Marvin. We are heading back to the capital." „But why, if you don´t mind me asking. Aren´t we supposed to "investigate"?" „The investigation has ended Francis. We have what we need, we head back to the headquarters and show this to the mechanics. I think, that they could be able to tell us, what this thing is…"


	3. Chapter 3

Erich looked through the periscope. No sign of any gallian ships. They probably havent figured out anything yet. He grinned. " Topp, the bridge is yours until im back. If anything changes, let me know imediatly." He turned around and began to make his way towards his quarter. Just as he was about to leave, the radio operator got a signal. "Lieutenant Commander, the supply base got captured by the Gallians. We got the order to go back to the harbour and try to recover as much equipment as possible." "Well, if thats the case, change the course. We wouldnt want to disappoint His Grace, would we?"

Erich looked at the map. "How could they break through our defenses? We had Bunkers all over the place, right?" "Apparently they used smokerounds to avoid getting seen by our machinegun-bunkers.", the radio operator replied. Topp took out his canteen and took a swig. He then offered it to Erich. He declined. Erich looked at him. He was serving under him for 3 years now. At first, he didnt like him at all, but now Erich regarded him as a trustworthy subordinate, even a friend. When the Navy decided to put the prototype to use, Erich requested Topp as his deputee. "Smokerounds? Since when does the Gallian army have enough brains to produce such things?" "According to our scouts, they got attacked by the Militia. The same unit that took the Vasel Bridge and Fouzen. Maybe those shells were custom made, just like their tank?" "Probably. Well, i think should go back to the surface. We need to get there as soon as possible, if they find our harbour, things will get rather difficult. Well, i will go back to my quarters, the bridge is yours."

He left the bridge. "I told the Admiral, that a day like this would come. We would have needed more submarines. But no, giant landbattleships are more important. At least they let me build this boat.", he thought. The idea came to him, while he was watching a shark attacking some seagulls from bellow. The Admiral wasnt fond of his idea, but he allowed a prototype to be build anyways. And now, a few months later, said prototype was under his command and responsible for the sinking of some Gallian ships and for multiple transport-operations. The High command decided, to test the submarine under real battle circumstances. Thus, he got sent to Prince Maximilian together with the Admiral. While the Admiral was the commander of the invasion fleet, Erich should command the "Empire" to gain some experience and develop tactics. In the early months, he was supervised by the Admiral, but after some victories against the Gallians, the Admiral decided to go back to command the surface fleet.

"Lieutenant Commander, we reached the harbour." He didnt realize, that Topp had entered. "Good. We should gather as much as we can, we cant take the risk of the Gallians knowing about all this." "Right. I will send some men out to bring everything onboard, Sir." Topp left his quarter. "I should promote him some deserves it...", Erich thought. "I should probably open the envelope already. It is signed by His Grace, Prince Maximilian himself. It must be something important." Just as he was about to open it, the door got opened. "Sir, i have bad news. The men say, that they saw foodprints in the harbour and some of the chests are missing."


	4. Chapter 4

"Goddammit, stupid radio…" Lieutenant Delson looked furious. "Go on, work you stupid thing…" "Should we stop Lieutenant? Maybe the signals better if we do that?" Marvin said from the front seat. He let the, as he called him, "new guy" drive and cleaned his new weapon. The Lieutenant looked at him. "How should i know if that helps. But at this point im desperate enough to try it. Private, stop the car. Oh, and Marvin, what have i told you about seizing imperial equipment?" Marvin turned around with a grin. "Oh, dont worry, ive been stockpiling imperial ammunition since the beginning." "Whatever." Lieutenant Delson began to work on the radio again. "Hello? Can you hear me?" There was a pause "Loud and clearly. Whos is this?" came the answer. "This is Lieutenant Delson from Squad 76 speaking. We have discovered something in a Depot at the marberry shore, that seems to be a new type of ship. I will send the information once we reached an outpost." "Ok. But it would be better, if you bring it to the next navel base. The next should be a few miles in a bay to the west.", the voice recommended. "Affirmative." Lieutenant Delson replied. "Private Malley, you have heard the man."

After a three hour drive, they reached the base. Lieutenant Delson left to talk to the commander of the base. Private Malley had accompanied him. Marvin disappeared, but after a few minutes two soldiers brought him back, apparently they saw him snooping around in the kitchen. "If we catch you again, we will show you how fresh our fish is..." one of them said. "Understood, ill stay here. I could have made you one hell of a meal, but whatever." Marvin grinned. After the soldiers left, he took out a bag and showed its content to Francis. It was full of tomatoes, cheese, a loaf of bread and sausages. "Marvin, are you crazy? You cant just steal food from the navy!", Francis said. "If they notice it…" "Relax, they wont find out… well atleast not until one or two days have passed.", Marvin replied. Francis shook his head. "You will never change, will you?" "Of course i wont. Wheres the fun in that?" Marvin chuckled. Suddenly the Lieutenant walked out of the building, Private Malley right behind him. "Francis, the commander wants to speak with you. We will probably stay here for a couple of days, so make yourselfes comfortable.", he said. "You gotta be kidding me…", Marvin sighed.

(Sorry for the delay, had to deal with personal stuff. I will try to update the Story on a regular basis, so expect some new stuff soon)


	5. Chapter 5

Erich walked towards the personal room of the Admiral. He and Topp had travelled to Ghirlandaio after they surfaced near Terneuzen. Topp was waiting near the Jeep outside the gates. Two soldiers were standing guard in front of the door. Once he was in front of the door they saluted and one of them opened the door for him. "Good." ,he thought, "Seems like he told them that he was expecting me." Erich entered the door. The Admiral was sitting at his desk, probably reading reports. He walked into the middle of the room and silently waited for the Admiral to finish. Erich knew too well, that the Admiral did not like interruptions. After a couple of seconds, the man put the papers down. "Ah, Lieutenant Commander Prien, i did not expect you so soon…" He said. "I came as soon as you could, Admiral Richter. It would have been inappropriate to keep you waiting, considering the circumstances." Erich said. "How thoughtful of you. Anyways, you have not come here to chat with me, so there i suppose that there is a problem. The only question that remains is: What problem is bad enough to make you abort your mission?" ,Admiral Richter said. He then took out a piece of cloth. Erich gulped. "Our Outpost at the Marberry Shore fell. It…" "I already know about the Army's failure to defend the base. If that is all you are going to tell me i begin to question my decision to give you the command of anything larger than a rowing boat." ,the Admiral said. He had reached towards his left eye and began to pull it out. Erich stood there petrified. Admiral Richter chuckled. "Come one, finish your report. Dont let yourself interrupt by me.", he said. Erich knew very well that he did that on purpose. The Admiral enjoyed it to torture subordinates by cleaning his glass eye in front of them. "As i said, the outpost fell and… someone discovered the supply base for the ship…" Richter froze at this word. He stuck his glass eye into his eye socket, ignoring that the pupil was facing the left wall. "The cover was blown? Damn it… i think we should let the High Command know. This situation is rather delicate, we should wait before we make our next move. How much time to cause Mayhem do we have left?" "Two days, maybe three if they are slow…" Erich replied. This didnt sound good. "Perfect. Go back to your ship. Drive to nearest harbour and launch all your torpedos at them. Then shoot down their buildings with the deckguns. And then let your crew storm the base and kill all the survivors. No prisoners. As evidence that you fulfilled youre orders, take the flag with you Oh, and Prien… dont disappoint me." Admiral Richter said with a grin.


	6. Chapter 6

The commander of the base was a bear of a man, towering nearly two heads over Francis. "Well then, Corporal Bronner, Jos- Lieutenant Delson said that you have found something that could be interesting, is that correct?" he said while he filled himself a cup of tea. "Dear Valkyrur, where are my manners? Would you like some tea?" "Yes please." Francis said. He then took the cup in front of him and took a sip. The tea was a bit strong and it tasted like someone had poured rum into it, but it was good nontheless.

"Thank you Captain, its been a while since i had a hot drink. And yes, that is correct. While investigating the base at the Marberry Shore, we found something that appeared to be a hidden supply base. In there, there was… well, this." Francis took out one of the blueprints and placed it on the table. The Captain began to look at it. "Im not sure but it looks a bit like a ship. So we thought, that maybe someone with a bit more experience regarding naval equipment could figure out what this is." Francis said. The Captain put down the pape, walked towards the window behind him and opened it. "Sergeant Vexer, get me the guys we fished out last week." "Aye, aye Captain!" yelled a voice from down below.

Five minutes later, two soldiers of the gallian navy stood in the room, brooding over the document. The captain broke the silence. "Well Gentlemen, does this look similiar to the thing that sunk your cruiser?" "Eh, kinda. Put it under water and it could work out. Damn Imps… ships arent suppossed to hide under the waves before they attack…" Said the taller Soldier. He hadnt shaved in a while, indicated by some stubbles on his chin, and his left hand was covered in burns. They looked fresh, probably only 5 days old. "Something the matter, Corporal?" the Captain asked him. "Oh, uh, nothing Sir." "Thats good. So, as i was saying, we need to inform the capitol of this. The blueprints indicate, that the can use it to deploy a whole Platoon of Soldiers and even a tank behind our lines and quickly withdraw them, without anyone knowing what happened. That could become a problem." "Uhm, Captain, we left some crates from the supply base behind. If you could lend us a truck we can transport them to this base." Francis said. "What? Excellent. Then we ship them to the capitol. I will see, that you get your truck. Prepare to roll out in 12 minutes." Francis gulped. That was not what he had planned. Who would take care that Marvin didnt steal too much food now? Suddenly Francis had an idea. "Actually, i wasnt the one that discovered it. It was one of my comrades. It wouldnt be fair if i went instead of him." "Oh, is that so? Who was it then?" the Captain asked. "It was Private Lywon. I am sure that he wouldnt mind showing your soldiers where the hidden cave is." Francis said. The Captain paused for a moment. "Well, then get me this Private Lywon and tell im he earned himself a ride in a truck." "Yes Sir, i will let him know…" Francis said, grinning


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you nuts? Im not going back there! Why dont you send the new guy. He seems pretty eager to do something." Marvin said angrily. Francis had woken him up just a few moments ago. Marvin was probably more pissed about being woken up than the other part. "That wouldnt be fair. It was you, that pointed it out, after all…" Francis said. "And besides, that way i can be sure that you dont steal anything." "Go to hell Francis…"

Even though he kept complaining, only a few minutes later Marvin was ready to move out. Francis stood at the gate as the truck disappeared on the horizon. He then decided to take a stroll around in the base, how often would he get such an opportunity.

So far he had only seen a few rooms in the barracks and what would be problem if he just took a look? He began to head towards the harbour. The sun had begun to go down, painting the ocean in red and violet. It was a marvellous sight. He then began to look at the harbour itself. It was of relatively small size, at its best it could probably take two larger ships. There was a crane, Francis supposed that it was to load the ships with supplies for their missions. As of now, there was one cruiser and two smaller ships. Francis decided to go back to the barracks for dinner. He sat together with Walther, the Lieutenant and the Captain in the Captains office. Lieutenant Delson and the Captain were standing over a map, arguing about something, but Francis couldnt hear what they were saying. While they were waiting for the food, Walther leaned towards him "Sir, i dont want to be impatient or anything, but when will the action begin? I mean, why arent we fighting against the Imps? I know, we are only four men, but the Lieutenant could easily request reinforcements…" he whispered. "Well, first of, dont Sir me. Secondly, and i dont want to disappoint you, but this isnt an active fighting unit. Our main duty is to investigate, collect intel and to look through imperial reports. Thats all we do." Francis whispered back. Walthers eyes widened in shock. "What? But this takes 4 soldiers away from the front." "Theoretically it does. Practically not. I for myself am a giant coward. If there was an explosion or a shot nearby when i sat behind sandbags, id probably throw away my rifle and run away. Marvin… lets not talk about him while he isnt here. Lieutenant Delson fought during the first war and got the reputation of not hitting anything farther than 10 meters. I dont know about you, but so far only one of us could be useful on the front…" Francis answered. Hopefully the food was there soon, this conversation began to become unpleasant. "Oh. I didnt know that. I think i will ask for an reassignment once all of this is over." Walther said. "Do what you think is best. Oh, i hear footsteps, hopefully its our food, i could eat a horse." Francis said. Much to his delight it was. A soldier came in and brought four plates. On the plates were fishes and mashed potatoes. After Francis had finished his meal, he wished everyone a good night and went to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Marvin and the other soldiers arrived somewhere in the evening. The soldiers brought the crates to the harbour where they should be loaded into a transporter. Francis walked towards Marvin. "Why dont you help them? Then it would go faster." Francis asked. "Why should i. Besides, who do you think ordered them to do it?" Marvin said with a grin. "How can you order them around? Youre only a private." "You keep forgetting Francis…" Marvin replied. "This jacket sure works wonders…" "Oh, yeah. The jacket of Hugo. It was nice of him to swap with you." Francis said. "Anyways, what do you think will happen next? Now that we have captured the enemy's secret plans, that surely will turn the tide of war…or will it?" Marvin began to chuckle. "You really are an idiot from time to time. Well, ill tell Lieutenant Delson that youre back. Dont do anything stupid while im away." Francis said, while he walked towards the barracks.

Half an hour later Francis left the building. He then began to search for Marvin. He found him near the trucks. "Well, is that so? Go on then, nobodys hindering you." he heard Marvin said. "My decision is made. I just wanted to tell everyone before i go." said another voice.

Probably Walther, Francis assumed. "Well, you told me, what now? Do you think you will win this war all by yourself? Well, the imperial soldiers will certainly wet their pants if they see you coming. Be glad, that youre not at the front. If you really want to crawl through dirt, id advise you to do it over there, where nobody shots you in your ass." Marvin said. Francis walked closer. "This is still nonsense. I will ask the Head quarters for a reassignment. My abilities are completely wasted, if i stay. I could fight and help the war effort by shooting down imps. That would be a lot better than standing miles away, looking at stones." Walther said. The tone of his voice had changed, it was more hostile now. "Well, that is your choice. But if an Imperial soldier with the same attitude guns you down, dont expect me to stand miles away and look at the stone on your grave afterwards." Marvin replied. It was at this moment, that Francis arrived. "Guys, calm down." he said. "Calm down? He implies that i will die!" Walther said furiously. "Implying? Im one hundred percent certain. Folks like you dont last long on the front. Believe me, i know what im talking about." Marvin said. He had begun to lean on a truck, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "How would you? You probably never were on the front. Im sure you just heard stories. Ive seen how you work. Someone as lazy as you wouldnt last long on the front either." Walther yelled. "Guys, please calm down." Francis said, trying to ease the tension. Marvin just looked at Walther. "Never were on the front, huh. Well, let me tell you, im glad im not there anymore. I know how it is to be there. I know how it is to sit in a tank. I know the feeling when the tank catches fire because they hit the engine. I know the fear when you get stuck in between some metal while the flames get closer. I know the pain of your skin burning…" Marvin said as he removed his jacket, revealing the scales the flames had left on his back. "... and i know the sound of the screams of a person burning to death inside of the tank,because they couldnt get out in time. So, go on, go to the front. But dont say i didnt warn you." "Oh, i didnt know, im sorry, i didnt want to…" Walther said. He could finish his sentence. In this exact moment there was an explosion coming from the docks.


	9. Chapter 9

Erich stood in the bridge, looking through the periscope. The torpedo had penetrated the cruisers side and caused an explosion in the ammunition storage in the stern. "That was a good one. Now turn the ship so we can sink other two boats." he said with a smile. He was still uneasy about the "burn the whole base down"-order, but seeing ships sinking into the sea always was an amazing sight. Every ship sank a different way. The cruiser from last week had broken into three pieces after the magazines catched fire and exploded. This one slowly leaned towards the left, before it fell over, sinking sideways. "We are in fire position now Sir.", Topp said. "Excellent. Fire as soon as we are ready." Erich said. Topp gave the communications officer the signal. Soon Erich could see the traces of the torpedos. The transport-ships had no chance, each of it turned into a blazing fireball. "Topp, its time to surface. Gunners, prepare yourselves to man the guns." Erich said while he let the periscope slide in. "Affirmative, Lieutenant Commander!" Topp said.

A few moments later Erich was standing on the deck. "Our objective is to destroy this base. Be as precise as possible, we dont have unlimited shells. You may fire at will." he said towards the gunners. He then turned towards the infantry soldiers. "We dont know how many there are, so be on guard. Admiral Richter said, that we dont take prisoner. Kill everyone who resists, but let the fleeing ones flee. We dont need unnecessary violence." The soldiers saluted before they jumped on the smaller boat which was stored in the stern. Erich followed them and sat down. The officer started the engine and they begun to drive towards the shore.

It took longer than expected. When they arrived, the Empires guns already became silent, indicating the total annihilation of the base. Erich jumped out of the boat and loaded his pistol. "You know your orders. We will go back to the Empire in twelve minutes, everyone whos not back then is presumed dead and gets left behind. Now go and fulfill the Admirals orders." Erich said. The soldiers began to storm into the base. Erich slowly walked towards it. He had enough time, might as well take it easy. It didnt take long for the sound of shots to be heard. "Foolish Gallians." Erich thought. "Dont they see that resistance is futile?" He shook his head. When he arrived at the base, the shots had become rarer. As he walked towards the main building, that was pretty much a ruin by now, he saw movement. The door had opened and a man in a shiny uniform walked out. At least Erich supposed that the uniform had been shiny once. Now there where holes in it and there were black spots on it. The man stopped when he saw Erich. He stared at Erich. Erich gave him a smile. The man reached towards his sidearm, but he was to slow. Erich pulled the trigger and the man got hit in the torso. The man dropped his pistol fell on his knees. Erich walked through the door, headed up towards the stairs. He had to be careful due to the large holes caused by the explosions. When he arrived in what probably has been the commander's office he saw the flag. It had come down after an explosion had made the wall collaps. Erich grabbed it and walked out of the room. He then proceeded to go to the boat. Three minutes later, the soldiers arrived. From the looks of it they had no casualties, but a few soldiers had injuries. "Well Gentlemen, mission accomplished." Erich said with a grin.


	10. Chapter 10

After the explosion, Francis opened his eyes again. He was crouching, his arms around his legs, shaking. "Get up, we have to find the Lieutenant and get to a safer place!" Marvin yelled. "Shouldnt we investigate what cau-" Walther began, but Marvin cut him short. "Something exploded. End of the story. Thats all we need to know. Now help me to make Francis move!" Francis found himself unable to anything. Seconds later there was another explosion. Afterwards, he felt some pain on his face, as if something hard crashed into the left side of his jaw. "Get up you fool. The next one wont be that gentle!" Francis couldnt process who had said that. He heard some noises, screams and then another explosion. Something hit hard him hard in the back and his right shoulder, and in the same moment, there was this intense pain. Francis screamed, fell over, face flat on the ground. "Dammit. I think we have to carry him, he doesnt look like he can walk." "Is….Is he…" "Youre not exactly helping you know. Help me pick him up! Take his legs and help me carry him to that fence over there!" He felt someone grabbing him at his feet and under his armpits. Some time later, Francis couldnt tell how long, he fell to the ground. "Try to help him, im gonna look for the Lieutenant." "O… Ok.." Someone began to take of his clothes. It reminded Francis of a peacefullier time, when he had rolled around in the grass with a girl. He tried to think about the smell of her hair when suddenly…

...he felt intense pain coming from his back. Francis screamed. "Oh, thank the Valkyrur, youre still alive!" he heard Walther say. Francis was lying on his stomach. Suddenly there was the pain again. "I know, this hurts but you have to be strong…" Walther said. "Oh, Valkyrur, Oh Valkyrur, thats too much blood…" Suddenly there was another voice he didnt recognize. "Hey, you, if you want your friend to live pull out this splinter out of his shoulder!" He then felt pain again. Francis screamed another time. "Step aside kiddo, Im gonna do it." There was the pain again. Francis nearly bit out his tongue. Then the pain was gone. "Now we have to disinfect it. You have something with you?" the mysterious voice said again. "No-.. No…" Walther replied. "Well, then rum should do…" Suddenly there was an even worse feeling. The pain as if someone drilled a flaming hot metal rod into his wound. Francis let out yet another scream and passed out as the world became black around him…

Francis dreamt of the girl in the grass again. He hugged her tightly as they sat in the grass, just as he was about to kiss her…

...someone poured cold water on him. "About time, you wake up." the mysterious person said. Francis looked around. He was at the side of a road, around him were Walther, Marvin and Lieutenant Delson… and two soldiers he didnt know. One of them had an arm covered in burns. "Good thing you woke up. Do you know what happened?" the Lieutenant said "Bits and pieces...there were explosions i think... screams... more explosions…" Francis tried to stand up. He moaned as the pain in his arm started to go back. "Marvin, Paul, help him up." Lieutenant Delson said. One of the soldiers and Marbin began to gently help him up. Francis noticed, that he couldnt move his right arm well. His shoulder was covered in bandages and his arm was tied to his stomach. "Paul patched you up quite nicely, but to be sure we are taking you to the Headquarters. There they will take a look at you." " Yeah. And we have to let them know. This thing can send out soldiers. I they get close to the capitol, that could lead to a problem. All units except the Royal Guard are on the front. And ive seen how precise they are. Those were not normal imperial troops, those must be soldiers of the Imperial Guard." Paul said. "So, whats the plan now?" Francis asked. Lieutenant Delson pointed at the road. "We get back into the jeep and try to reach the capitol as soon as possible. The documents and crates may be lost, but the photographs and the destruction of the base should be enough evidence of the destructive power of that vessel…"


	11. Chapter 11

It took them 2 days to get to the Randgriz. The Lieutenant went to see the High Command while Marvin, Walther, Francis and the wo soldiers, whos names where Paul and Reinhard, were left behind. He also gave them the order to check the training-grounds, who knows when they will get the next chance to train. "Is that all youve got? Come on, i have seen grandparents faster than that! Stop behaving like snails and start running maggots!", the drill sergeant said. Francis tried to run faster. He tripped, fell over and landed with his face in the mud. "I said run dammit. Maybe we should reassign you as an engineer since you love digging trenches that much. Now stand up, we dont need entrenchments here, if you cant run you cant dig them on the front maggot!"

Twenty minutes (and several "trenches") later, the Sergeant dismissed them. Francis decided to go and wash his face. When he came out of the bathroom, Marvin was waiting for him. "You know, i think i found the perfect nickname for you. "Francis the mole". Oh, hows your back by the way?", he asked. "Its...uh...its ok. It still hurts but i wont kill me, i guess. That Paul-guy patched me up quite good." Francis replied. "Uhm...Francis...im sorry…" he turned around. Walther was standing behind him."What for?" "I couldnt do it. If Seamen Bekinson didnt intervene, you would have died…" "He hasnt. Lets not talk about it." Marvin said. "Anyways, what do you guys think will happen now? I mean, theres literally that boat that can sink at will out there and it seems that it transports enemy troops. If I was an Imp id send that thing at the capitol and kill the whole high command." "They cant do that because there is always a tank regiment of the regular army that guards the city." Francis said. "Tanks, huh? Then tell me, were are those damn tanks? I havent seen anyon our way here…" Marvin replied. Francis looked around. "Now that you say it, i havent seen any tanks around. Some troops, but not many. Where is everyone?"

Just as he said that, Lieutenant Delson arrived. "Ok guys, im going to be honest to you. The High Command doesnt care about the incident. Thats, and i quote "business of the Naval forces, due to the attacker operating from the sea". General Damon is busy sending troops to the Naggiar Plains. Some "final decisive battle"-thing." Marvin was the first to say something. "Let me get this right: there is a ship that can submerge, transport troops and was able bomb the shit out of a naval base, but our own High Command doesnt give two craps about it?" "That sums it up quite well. But theres still something we can do. Our Unit didnt get assigned to that front. Captain Varrot suggested, that we try to stop them on our own. Whatever we need, she assured me, that we just have to ask and she will make sure that we get it, aslong as it is plausible that it was sent as "reinforcements". So, what do you think?"

It was quiet for a moment. "Well, might as well get our asses into motion. But even if we get enough weapons to destroy it, how could wepossibly find it? That thing can hide from us." Marvin said. "Good point. We will come up with something, that im onehundred percent certain of. That thing sunk our cruiser, now its our turn to sink it to avenge our comrades. You can count us in Lieutenant.", the seaman with the burned arm said. The other one nodded. The Lieutenant smiled. "Well, its settled then. Tell me what all of you need, i will try to get it."


	12. Chapter 12

Erich was standing next to a tank, watching some soldiers practicing their aim at the shooting range. The guards told him, that he was planning with the Prince right now. They told him to wait, so he told them that we would be waiting outside. Topp was sitting somewhere with some soldiers and drank. Or at least he was when Erich had last seen him. Erich walked towards the soldiers at the shooting range. Some of them shot quite accurated, snipers, he assumed. Two of them seemed to engage in a duell, they tried to shoot as fast as possible while still being as precise as possible. After a few shots, the winner was clear. The soldier that lost reached into his bag and gave the winner a piece of bread. Erich laughed. He remembered the time when he served as crewman of a rivermonitor during the first war, when they also used rations when they made a bet. One of the soldiers noticed him. "Wanna give it a go Sir? Its easier then it looks?" "No, thanks. I dont want to lose my bread." he said jokingly. He knew that they wouldnt dare. He may be from the Navy, but he still was an officer and enlisted personal had a natural instinct to not enrage anything higher than a NCO. "Aw, come on, Sir. Ill tell you something. One for free. If you win, you get my bread. If i win, i know that im a better shooter than an officer. How does that sound?" the soldier said, smirking. Erich mustered him. "Youve got a deal. But if you win, ill give you this." He said and took out the pistol he had taken from the commander at the naval base. "Ok, if you want to have it that way. You know how to shoot a rifle, right? Just try to hit the center." the soldier said. Erich took one of the nearby rifles. The wasnt used to the weight of it. He sat down and put the muzzle on the sandbags. He aimed at the center. Then he pulled the trigger. The stock of the weapon crashed into his arm due to the heavy recoil, much to the amusement of the soldiers around him. He hold his arm and rubbed the spot where the stock hit him. "Nice shot." the soldier said. "Half an inch to the left and you would have hit the target… the pistols mine i guess." The soldier then aimed carefully and shot. He had aimed a bit too low, but the bullet hit the target near the center. Erich handed the pistol to the soldier. "Take good care of it. It once belonged to a gallian officer." "I will." the soldier said, inspecting his newly won trophy. "Another round? Your binoculars look interesting too…" The soldier who previously won suddenly began to speak. "Frederick, stop bothering the Lieutenant Commander!" he said. He then turned towards Erich. "Im sorry Sir, hes not behaving apropriate since ge got bested by gallian Snipers on multiple occasions. He claims, that its always the same sniper and that seems to have left a deep cut on his ego." "Its ok. Let the men have their fun. Its war, theres not much they can do. Nearly everything is better than raiding villages. Oh, did any of you see a navy officer, about this tall, freshly shaved, brown hair?" "Rings a bell. Hes over there, drinking with some tankers." the other soldier, whos name was Frederick, said. "Thanks. Well then, farewell soldiers, may the Valkyrur watch over you in your next battle." Erich said as he walked towards the tanks. He walked past them and saw Topp sitting at a table. "Seems like hes ok." Erich thought. He was about walk towards them when one of the guards approached him. "Lieutenant Commander Prien, Admiral Richter awaits you in his quarters."


	13. Chapter 13

"...and then we drove back to our ship." Erich said. He then reached into his bag to take out the flag and placed it on the table. "Hm. Perfect." Admiral Richter replied. He was standing at the window and looked outside. "Is there anything else i should know? Did anything else happen, that should be in my report for the capitol?" Erich gulped. That indicated, that Richter knew about something.

"No, nothing i can remember right now…" "Ah. I have a report from the commander of the raiding troop on my desk, maybe it will help your memory if i read it to you…" Erich could see that the Admiral had swapped his glass eye for one with a flame in the center. "Oh, the raiding troops… yes, there may be some gallians that were able to flee…" "Able to flee?" Admiral Richter smashed his fist on the table. "You gave the order to let them escape! What did i tell you? No prisoners!" "But we didnt take pri-" "Quiet! If i say "no prisoners", that means that there should be no survivors! The "Empire" was a secret! You should attack the naval base because it is the only military infrastructure for miles and therefor the only place, where they could have gone! And because you imbecile let the Gallians escape, they are able to tell their high command about our secret weapon. What is the point of a secret weapon, if the enemy knows about it?" Admiral Richter breathed heavily. He looked really angry. Erich remained silent, to not enrage him any more.

"Nothing to say for yourself? Pathetic!" Richter shook his head. "To think i would have given you the command for such an important attack…" "Important attack…?" Erich asked. "Yes, important attack. As you may have noticed, we send troops to the Naggiar Plains. The enemy does the same. I decided to use this opportinuty to sieze Randgriz. We send a platoon of soldiers and a modified heavy tank on board the "Empire" to march into the Gallian capitol, kill the remaining guards and capture their leaders. Then this war will be over. The Prince agreed to my plan…" Admiral Richter walked towards the window, his arms crossed behind his back.

"Once i come back, i will be greeted as a Hero of the Empire. Just think about the glory. I will be remembered for centuries because of my crucial role in the victory over Gallia. And we will end this war without using the Marmota… which can then be used to turn the tide on the front against the Federation. Soon, the Empire will rule the world and once his Grace becomes the Emperor, i will finally become the head of the Navy…" Erich couldnt believe it. What Admiral Richter said there scratched on insanity. "But Admiral, what if the plan fails?" Erich asked. "It wont fail. I will make sure of it wont. Because you proved to be incapable for this job, i will take command over the "Empire". That direct subordinate of yours… he will get replaced by someone more capable. You on the other hand… you practically designed the ship. I will need you at my side to inform me about the it. Anyways, i have important things to do. You can leave now." "Yes...Sir…" Erich said, as he left the room.

Back outside, Erich began to walk around, his hands the pockets of his uniform. He had suspected that the Admiral would look for a reason to give the command over the "Empire" to a more loyal officer Richter knew he could trust, but he had never expected that that day would have come so soon. He then looked around. Topp was still at the table, drinking with the soldiers. "Well, time to tell him the bad news." Erich said to noone in particular, since nobody was around him. Might as well do it now. And who knows, a few drinks probably wouldnt hurt...


	14. Chapter 14

"Why the hell do you need captured Imperial anti-tankguns?" Lieutenant Delson asked as he went through Marvins list. Everyone had made a seperate one so Delson knew who to ask why they wanted Equipment X or Weapon Y. "I dont think lances are enough to take that ship down, Lieutenant. Therefor i thought something bigger might be needed." Marvin replied. "Hm. I may get them as "direct anti-armour-support". But that doesnt explain why you also want a gatling and a mortar…" "Oh, thats easy. The gatling to kill the infantry, the mortar to blow up their guns." "Well, the High Command may get suspicios if a "frontline-support-platoon" requests that much equipment. Settle for one of them." Lieutenant Delson then looked at Walther. "Ok, Walther, i know you are knew and all, but 10 mines, 30 grenades and 4 kilogramms of explosives are way too much. Try to bring them down to a plausible ammount." "Yes Sir." He then faced the soldiers of the navy. "Well Gentleman, i appreciate your help, but 2 smgs and 1260 rounds of ammuntion are a bit much. Maybe 300-400?" "Aknowledged." the shorter one of them said. His name was Bernhard, Francis thought. "Well Francis, now to you. A pistol, three magazines and binoculars... nothing else?" "No Sir. That will be enough. I dont need more." "Good. Ill come back later with the equipment. Walther, Marvin, have you made adjustments?" Both of them nodded.

Just three hours later, they had nearly everything they asked for. Marvin had settled for the Anti-tankgun and Walther had decreased his requests to 4 mines, 11 grenades and 3 kilogramms of explosives. They decided to plan near a smaller bridge somewhere north of Randgriz. "Ok. We will just assume, that they will act the way Marvin said they would do and attack Randgriz to end this war. Any ideas?" Delson asked. "Well, we have to make them come to the surface to attack them. But how?" Bernhard said. "Good point. Any ideas to achieve that?" A few minutes passed. "Uhm… we could like...uh… put a large net under a bridge to block the way…?" Marvin suggested. Everyone looked at him. "Thats the worst idea i have ever heard…" Walther said. "Hold on a minute." Francis said. "That could actually work. A thick net that blocks the river could give us an advantage. We could see how long it takes for the ship to come to the surface and how long they need to get rid of the net. If we need that, we could put another net under a second bridge and use the information to attack it during its time on the surface…" Everyone remained silent. "Anyone got a better plan?" Lieutenant Delson asked. "Because if that works, ill eat a broom once all this over…" Nobody said anything. "Good, then its settled. We use a plan that has a high chance to fail. Lets try to raise our odds by planning everything carefully. Im open to suggestions, this plan can only get better…"

"Ok, i will sum it up." Lieutenant Delson said a few minutes later. "Francis will hide near the first bridge and inform us about everything they do. Meanwhile the rest of us sets everything up. Once they surface again, Marvin will stay here and attack their guns. After they got destroyed, Bernhard and Paul will try to take out their infantry while Marvin provides firesupport with the gun. Then we blow up the two bridges and force them to surrender. If they dont do it, we will blow their boat up." There was a pause. "Thats the most crazy plan ive had so far, and during the first war my squad had to raid an enemy trench, only armed with shovels and pistols… lets hope that this works…but most importantly, lets hope that they try to sieze Randgriz." "If they do, the only thing between them and the capitol is us. 6 soldiers against a diving ship of the Imperial Navy, a platoon of Imperial Guards and a tank. What could possibly go wrong?" Marvin said.


	15. Chapter 15

"The armies clashed together Admiral Richter. The battle at the Naggiar Plains started once again." the radio operator said. Erich gulped. "Excellent. How long until we reach our destination?" the Admiral asked. He sat in Erichs chair. "Aproximatly two hours." the soldier at the steering wheel said. "Good. These Gallian fools have no chance. They shall shiver under the might of the Empire. They stand no cha-" Suddenly the ship came to a stop. "What the hell happened? Slide out the periscope!" Admiral Richter said. A soldier began to do as he was told. "It appears that we rammed something. It look like… a net?" the soldier replied confused. "Prepare to surface, we have to take it down. Why is there even a net in the middle of nowhere?" the Admiral asked. "Maybe a fisherman put it there? Many people that live near rivers work as fishermen. So maybe one of them threw his net out at this position." Erich suggested. "Whatever. Get that net away."

Some time later, the Empire had submerged again and the net got shot down. The boat began to continue to head towards its destination.

Francis looked at the clock. He then turned the radio on. "They take around six minutes to fully go to the surface and make their guns ready." Francis shouted into the speaker. "After that they need the same amount of time to sink." "Good work Francis. You can come back now." came the answer from the Lieutenant. Francis picked up the radio and ran towards the jeep.

"Listen up soldiers. Our brothers fight to crush the Gallian army. You all eagerly volunteered for a frontline operation, yet you just got sent into a large tube. Its time that we let you know your objective: to imprison the Gallian Leaders. If we are able to capture Cordelia di Randgriz, the war will be over. Right now, her only defense consist of the Royal Guard. I dont expect any of you to accept this mission, so whoever wants to stand back can do so." the Admiral said. Erich grinned. He knew that all them would volunteer again. None of them wanted the reputation of being a coward, not now, when the war seemed to go in their favour. And the Admiral knew this very well. While Richter continued his speech, Erich decided to go back to the bridge and walked out of the room. "Hopefully they gave Topp the letter." Erich said to nobody. As far as he knew, Topp got assigned to a corvette for patrolling duties. "What a boring job…" He opened the door.

The officer who was in charge of the bridge at the moment looked at him. "Lieutenant Commander Prien." "Captain Thomson…" Thomson served alongside him when the both where assigned to a reconaissance boat when both of them had just started. "Seems like fate decided to bring us together once again. May i ask why i am standing in a position thats rightfully yours?" Thomson asked. "Well, its complicated. Lets just said i made a mistake and this is my punishment. What about you Arne? Why are you here?" Erich asked him. "Definitly not luck. I became the commander of a coast battery, but Richter apparently wanted me to command this ships guns. What even is this Erich? This is the strangest vessel ive ever seen." "This ship is able to disappear from the surface. We call it "underwater-boat". It was designed by-" Erich wanted to say as the boat came to another sudden stop again. "I have a bad feeling about this…" he said...


	16. Chapter 16

The officer that comanded the frontal gun was highly motivated. This one final operation and the Gallians could be forced into surrender. "Stand up and get your asses up there! We have a war to win!" he shouted at the crew. After the last one climbed up the ladder, he followed them. Soon, he reached the deck. "Ok, load a high explosive shell boys! I want this net down as soon as possible. Victory is within our reach!" The soldiers began make the usual prepatrations. Cleaning the gun from plants, drying the barrel and everything else, folding the shields and opening the crate. "The gun is ready Sir." "Fire on my signal. 3…. 2…." He got interrupted by the sound of a cannon being fired. The last thing the officer saw was an explosion before he got torn appart by incoming metal shards..

"What? The frontal gun got blown up? Thats impossible!" Erich could hear the Admiral screaming. Just a few moments afterwards, Richter entered the Bridge. "Turn around!" he yelled at the navigator. "Thomson, get yourself a few soldiers up there and try to find the enemy!" "Yes Admiral Richter." Arne said. He then walked away. "Erich, get me the raiding troops! There must be an enemy tank or artillery piece. Get them and the Kaiman out! We have to make sure that they get annihilated!" "Of course, Admiral Richter…" Erich said. He then walked towards the rear. He opened the door to the crew quarters. "Get up, Gentlemen, theres a battle you have to fight…" Erich said.

The ship had begun to turn around. Marvin loaded another shell into the gun. Once they manned the second gun, things would get interesting. He grinned at the thought. "Come on, get out so i can shoot at you…" Suddenly his radio received a message. "Im nearly there! I should arrive in a few minutes…" "Good to hear Francis. Park the jeep a little bit away from our position." "Of course Lieutenant!" Marvin turned off the radio as he looked through the guns telescope.

Erich walked back to bridge. "All soldiers are ready for deployement. They are preparing the crane right now." he said. "Good. By the way Erich, im curious… why do you keep that pistol with you?" "Its a safety measure. If something goes wrong, i can put myself and 7 others out of our misery if we sink." Erich explained. "Hm… interesting… empty your gun! I dont trust you with a loaded firearm…" "If you say so.." Erich said, shooting eight times. Little did the Admiral know he had one last bullet in a pocket.

"Finally!" Marvin said as the Imps climbed out of that weird tower again. He took aim at the second gun, waiting for the soldiers to take out the ammo box. He noticed that one guy stayed in the tower. "Pff… weirdo…" He continued to focus on the gun. The Imps revealed the ammo crate. Marvin aimed cardfully. He then fired, blowing up the crate as it took apart the gun and its crew. "Hehe… seems like my work here is done." He wanted to turn on the radio again as he noticed movement in the water. Some weird tank drove through it, its turret facing him. "Shit…"

The moment Francis arrived, he could hear an explosion. "Seems like all goes well…" he said as he run towards the position where Walther and the Lieutenant would be...


End file.
